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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
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Wine jargon: literal or metaphorical?
A couple of years ago, I noticed that the bottle of inexpensive, inoffensive Chardonnay on my table was burdened with the following description:
...abounds with aromas of pears, figs, bananas and ripe pineapple enhanced by notes of vanilla and spicy oak. The flavors are fresh, yet creamy with a buttery texture and a hint of toffee.
I emailed it to a friend with the subject line "Did they *** in it too?", but I meant that to be facetious. I supposed that the pears, etc., referred to a taster's fancied resemblances rather than to actual ingredients. But now I wonder. My current bottle of cheapo Merlot, according to the label,
brings forward rich blends of plum and cherry fruit, seasoned with rosemary and dill with a touch of oak and cedar.
"Blends" & "seasoned" suggest, more decidedly than "aromas" & "flavors", that they actually put that stuff in. Who knows?
I also wonder about "plum and cherry fruit". Is that redundancy idiomatic in some dialects, on the analogy of "tuna fish"? Or is "fruit" winetasters' jargon for "fruity aroma"?
Joe Fineman (Email Removed)
...abounds with aromas of pears, figs, bananas and ripe pineapple enhanced by notes of vanilla and spicy oak. The flavors are fresh, yet creamy with a buttery texture and a hint of toffee.
I emailed it to a friend with the subject line "Did they *** in it too?", but I meant that to be facetious. I supposed that the pears, etc., referred to a taster's fancied resemblances rather than to actual ingredients. But now I wonder. My current bottle of cheapo Merlot, according to the label,
brings forward rich blends of plum and cherry fruit, seasoned with rosemary and dill with a touch of oak and cedar.
"Blends" & "seasoned" suggest, more decidedly than "aromas" & "flavors", that they actually put that stuff in. Who knows?
I also wonder about "plum and cherry fruit". Is that redundancy idiomatic in some dialects, on the analogy of "tuna fish"? Or is "fruit" winetasters' jargon for "fruity aroma"?
Joe Fineman (Email Removed)
Top answer
[nq:1]A couple of years ago, I noticed that the bottle of inexpensive, inoffensive Chardonnay on my table was burdened with ... that redundancy idiomatic in some dialects, on the analogy of "tuna fish"? [/nq] This post reminds me of that hilarious episode of 'Frasier' in which Frasier and his brother Niles have a blind 'taste off': ** Frasier: Oh for ***'s sake, Niles.
- [nq:1]A couple of years ago, I noticed that the bottle of inexpensive, inoffensive Chardonnay on my table was burdened with ...
- that redundancy idiomatic in some dialects, on the analogy of "tuna fish"?
- [/nq] This post reminds me of that hilarious episode of 'Frasier' in which Frasier and his brother Niles have a blind 'taste off': ** Frasier: Oh for ***'s sake, Niles.
- The wine spent less time in the bottle!
- (Niles spits and writes down his prediction) Master: All right, gentlemen, you have correctly identified the first three wines, let's see if number four can break the tie.
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25 Answers
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[nq:1]A couple of years ago, I noticed that the bottle of inexpensive, inoffensive Chardonnay on my table was burdened with ... that redundancy idiomatic in some dialects, on the analogy of "tuna fish"? Or is "fruit" winetasters' jargon for "fruity aroma"?[/nq]
This post reminds me of that hilarious episode of 'Frasier' in which Frasier and his brother Niles have a blind 'taste off':
**
This post reminds me of that hilarious episode of 'Frasier' in which Frasier and his brother Niles have a blind 'taste off':
**
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[nq:1]This post reminds me of that hilarious episode of 'Frasier' in which Frasier and his brother Niles have a blind 'taste off': ** Frasier: Oh for ***'s sake, Niles. The wine spent less time in the bottle! (Niles spits and writes down his prediction)[/nq]
I think "prediction" is the wrong word, CJ. Each of them has already tasted the wine. so what they're writing down is what they think the
I think "prediction" is the wrong word, CJ. Each of them has already tasted the wine. so what they're writing down is what they think the
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[nq:2]A couple of years ago, I noticed that the bottle ... to a taster's fancied resemblances rather than to actual ingredients.[/nq]
Sometimes they're "fancied resemblances", but the flavours can also be caused by plants growing in the vicinity of the vines (this is also the case with honey), or what the casks are made of, or what they have been used for before.
[nq:2]But now I wonder. My
Sometimes they're "fancied resemblances", but the flavours can also be caused by plants growing in the vicinity of the vines (this is also the case with honey), or what the casks are made of, or what they have been used for before.
[nq:2]But now I wonder. My
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[nq:1]A couple of years ago, I noticed that the bottle of inexpensive, inoffensive Chardonnay on my table was burdened with ... that redundancy idiomatic in some dialects, on the analogy of "tuna fish"? Or is "fruit" winetasters' jargon for "fruity aroma"?[/nq]
Well, it's standard enough wine jargon. "Fruit" does not indicate the addition of any fruit other than grapes; rather it means that th
Well, it's standard enough wine jargon. "Fruit" does not indicate the addition of any fruit other than grapes; rather it means that th
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[nq:2]This post reminds me of that hilarious episode of 'Frasier' ... in the bottle! (Niles spits and writes down his prediction)[/nq]
[nq:1]I think "prediction" is the wrong word, CJ. Each of them has already tasted the wine. so what they're writing ... trying to do. They're trying to identify the wine. "Niles spits and writes down what he thinks the wine is."[/nq]
I have to protest. This
[nq:1]I think "prediction" is the wrong word, CJ. Each of them has already tasted the wine. so what they're writing ... trying to do. They're trying to identify the wine. "Niles spits and writes down what he thinks the wine is."[/nq]
I have to protest. This
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[nq:2]A couple of years ago, I noticed that the bottle ... "tuna fish"? Or is "fruit" winetasters' jargon for "fruity aroma"?[/nq]
[nq:1]Well, it's standard enough wine jargon. "Fruit" does not indicate the addition of any fruit other than grapes; rather it ... of words. Most writers do both and are sometimes unaware that their jargon is little understood by the wine-drinking public.[/nq]
[nq:1]Well, it's standard enough wine jargon. "Fruit" does not indicate the addition of any fruit other than grapes; rather it ... of words. Most writers do both and are sometimes unaware that their jargon is little understood by the wine-drinking public.[/nq]
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[nq:2] I think "prediction" is the wrong word, ... spits and writes down what he thinks the wine is."[/nq]
[nq:1]I have to protest. This is the second time in two days that someone has said that "predict" doesn't mean ... could argue about which events, going backward in time, truly determined the outcome. People still call the statement, a prediction.[/nq]
But when Monty Hall asks you to
[nq:1]I have to protest. This is the second time in two days that someone has said that "predict" doesn't mean ... could argue about which events, going backward in time, truly determined the outcome. People still call the statement, a prediction.[/nq]
But when Monty Hall asks you to
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[nq:2]Well, it's standard enough wine jargon. "Fruit" does not indicate ... that their jargon is little understood by the wine-drinking public.[/nq]
[nq:1]I might add that descriptive terms are useful to the extent that they're specific. If I say that a wine ... wine writers. As so often on Frasier, the target of the satire is at least 30 years out of date.[/nq]
[nq:1]I might add that descriptive terms are useful to the extent that they're specific. If I say that a wine ... wine writers. As so often on Frasier, the target of the satire is at least 30 years out of date.[/nq]
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[nq:2] I think "prediction" is the wrong word, ... spits and writes down what he thinks the wine is."[/nq]
[nq:1]I have to protest. This is the second time in two days that someone has said that "predict" doesn't mean ... could argue about which events, going backward in time, truly determined the outcome. People still call the statement, a prediction.[/nq]
I'm not really convinced by your
[nq:1]I have to protest. This is the second time in two days that someone has said that "predict" doesn't mean ... could argue about which events, going backward in time, truly determined the outcome. People still call the statement, a prediction.[/nq]
I'm not really convinced by your
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The trouble is that taste is impossible to describe, because if a thing tastes of anything it tastes of itself. that's fine for an unpretentious food like, say, a marrow, but a product like wine is in shelf competition with others that would do just as well, and so ways are found to puff it up. (It's the same principle with aftershave lotion - though we don't drink that, unless our name's Gareth C
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